GOP candidate for governor Mike Murphy picks running mate

Lacy Johnson, who challenged U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in 2020, is running with Murphy.

May 12, 2022 at 9:53PM
Lacy Johnson is running on the ticket of Republican Mike Murphy. (Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

GOP candidate for governor Mike Murphy announced Lacy Johnson as his running mate Thursday, as the Minnesota Republican Party gears up for its state convention.

Johnson, a businessman from north Minneapolis, challenged U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in the 2020 race for the Fifth Congressional District. He said in a video announcement that after much "soul searching" he opted to run as Murphy's lieutenant governor pick.

"Mike has indicated a detailed understanding of the issues within the metropolitan area and the inner city as well as our state of Minnesota," Johnson said. "So I think we are going to be well-positioned to provide solutions to help make people's lives better and to win their votes and to take back the state of Minnesota from the Democrats."

Murphy, who is mayor of the small northern metro suburb of Lexington, is one of many candidates vying for the GOP endorsement as the party's delegates gather on Friday and Saturday. He is the third Republican candidate to chose a running mate, following Scott Jensen's choice of former Viking Matt Birk and Paul Gazelka's pick of former Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens. Others could select their lieutenant governors around the convention.

about the writer

Jessie Van Berkel

Reporter

Jessie Van Berkel is the Star Tribune’s social services reporter. She writes about Minnesota’s most vulnerable populations and the systems and policies that affect them. Topics she covers include disability services, mental health, addiction, poverty, elder care and child protection.

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